Health education impact on knowledge and management of arboviral diseases in Kenya: Evidence from randomised control trials.

Communities' knowledge and management strategies are crucial for mitigating and controlling the threat of existing and emerging diseases. In this study, we conducted randomised control trials (RCT) to examine the impact of health education on households' knowledge and management of three Arboviral Diseases (ADs); Rift Valley fever, Chikungunya fever, and Dengue fever in Kenya. The study was based on a sample of 629 households drawn from the three of Kenya's AD hotspot counties; Baringo, Kwale, and Kilifi.

Effect of farmer socio-economic characteristics on extension services demand and its intensity of use in post-conflict Liberia.

Farmers' demand for and use of agricultural extension services in post-conflict countries is key not only to agricultural productivity but for economic transformation and maintenance of peace. This paper examined the effect of socio-economic characteristics of smallholder rice farmers on demand for extension services and the intensity of their use in Gibi District of Liberia. Multistage sampling technique was used in select 296 smallholder rice farmers.

Intensity of adoption of integrated pest management practices in Rwanda: A fractional logit approach.

The push-pull technology (PPT) is considered as an alternative integrated pest management strategy for the control of fall armyworm and stemborer, among smallholder maize farmers in sub-Sahara African to conventional pesticides. However, the extent of PPT use in Rwanda where the technology was introduced in 2017 remains largely unexplored. This paper employed a fractional logit model to assess the factors influencing the intensity of adoption of PPT among smallholder maize farmers in Gatsibo and Nyagatare districts of Rwanda using survey data obtained from 194 PPT adopter households selected using a cluster sampling technique.

Assessment of factors affecting the decision of smallholder farmers to use alternative maize storage technologies in Gatsibo District-Rwanda.

Storage is an important aspect of food security in developing countries. Therefore, it is crucial for farmers to have access to sustainable storage technologies to cope with storage losses. Maize is an important staple and commercial food in Rwanda, but maize farmers are still being challenged by storage losses because of the lack of proper storage facilities.

Evaluating livestock farmers knowledge, beliefs, and management of arboviral diseases in Kenya: A multivariate fractional probit approach.

Globally, arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) infections continue to pose substantial threats to public health and economic development, especially in developing countries. In Kenya, although arboviral diseases (ADs) are largely endemic, little is known about the factors influencing livestock farmers' knowledge, beliefs, and management (KBM) of the three major ADs: Rift Valley fever (RVF), dengue fever and chikungunya fever. This study evaluates the drivers of livestock farmers' KBM of ADs from a sample of 629 respondents selected using a three-stage sampling procedure in Kenya's three hotspot counties of Baringo, Kwale, and Kilifi.

What is the impact of rural bank credit access on the technical efficiency of smallholder cassava farmers in Ghana? An endogenous switching regression analysis.

This paper assesses the impact of access to credit from rural and community banks (RCBs) on the technical efficiency of smallholder cassava farmers in Ghana. The study employed the stochastic frontier, and endogenous switching regression models to estimate the technical efficiency, and the impact of RCB credit access, respectively, on a randomly selected sample of 300 smallholder cassava farmers in the Fanteakwa District of Ghana. Results suggest that cassava farmers in the District are 70.

What factors influence access to and the level of participation in high value mango markets by smallholder farmers in Ghana?

Market participation is critical to smallholder agricultural production because it stimulates increased productivity and enhances poverty alleviation. Accessibility to high value markets and participation by small-scale mango farmers in these markets in Southern Ghana are low and have received little attention on both policy and academic fronts. This study analyzed the factors that drive smallholder farmers in Ghana to participate in high value mango markets in Southern Ghana.

Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene Levels of Produce Handlers in Qatar.

Workers' hygiene is one of the most important risk factors in transferring pathogens to foods. Produce handlers lacked basic knowledge on personal hygiene and food safety. Produce handlers' hand hygiene levels were below set standards.